Never Say Die: Black Sabbath Hit #1 On Billboard Album Charts

They’ve been number one in the minds of metal fans for decades, but Black Sabbath have just topped the Billboard 200 album chart for the first time.

The Rick Rubin-produced 13 marks their first studio album with original frontman Ozzy Osbourne since 1978’s Never Say Die!. Though some fans have been put off by the absence of original drummer Bill Ward (who declined to be part of the reunion due to contractual disagreements, his place taken by former Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave drummer Brad Wilk), clearly the anticipation of a new Sabbath album with their original frontman made up for Ward’s absence with many fans. The record moved nearly 155,000 copies in its first week, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan (via Billboard). The band will tour this summer with Tommy Clufetos, from Ozzy’s solo band, on drums.

One other legendary artist – Hans Zimmer – entered the Top 10 this week. Thanks to the Superman reboot, Man Of Steel, dominated at the box office this weekend, the original score, composed by Zimmer, did quite well also, selling 28,652 to enter the charts at No. 9.